Southern Illinois University School of Medicine

SIU is a pioneer of problem-based learning. Three mornings a week, tutor groups of five to eight students and a faculty leader work through virtual patients, taking histories, reading exam findings, ordering tests, and building differentials.

There's no required resource list. Alexander Worix describes resource sessions focused on clinically relevant material, and the freedom to study in whatever way works best.

SIU is known as a pioneer of the standardized patient, and students start taking histories with them in the first week. Skills are assessed through OSCEs, Clinical Competency Exams, and a full head-to-toe physical exam in under 45 minutes at the end of the year.

Every student is matched with a physician mentor and shadows at least 12 hours per unit, completing a real history and physical write-up each time.

First year takes place in Carbondale, on the SIU undergraduate campus, with hiking, wineries, and a college-town feel. The remaining three years are in Springfield, the state capital, where students train at Memorial Hospital and HSHS St. John's Hospital.

With 72 new MD students a year, Alexander values the one-on-one time with faculty, who also serve as tutor group leaders.

Tuition and fees for first-year students are about $40,700 for 2026–27, and only Illinois residents may apply to the MD program. Alexander chose SIU partly on cost.

39% of SIU graduates practice in Illinois, across 75 counties, and 34% are in primary care.